Wednesday, 1 March 2017 - Monthly Climate Summary for Tasmania - Product code IDCKGC17R0

Tasmania in February 2017: warm days at the end of a cool month

Frequent westerly winds and a lack of hot northerlies meant Tasmania had a very cool February until the final few days, with the State's mean temperature the lowest since 1991. A lack of rain-bearing systems meant rain was below average in the northeastern half.

A dry month in the east and north

• The northeastern half of Tasmania had a relatively dry February, with some areas much drier than usual and parts of the Midlands and the north had less than 5 mm of rain for the whole month
• Frequent westerly winds ensured rain was close to average in the west and southwest
• The State's total rainfall was 29% below average for February

Warm days at the end, but a cool month overall

• Tasmania was often in westerly winds during February; with relatively few days of warm northerlies and some cool southwesterlies, it was a generally cool month until the last week
• Several sites had their coolest February since at least 1996, either for daytime temperatures, overnight temperatures, or mean temperatures; at some sites with relatively short record (mostly in the north and west) it was the coolest February on record by one or other of these measures
• The State mean temperature was the coolest since 1991 at 1.36 °C below average
• Tasmania's mean daily maximum temperature for February was 1.62 °C below average, the coolest February since 1996
• The State's mean daily minimum temperature was 1.11 °C below average, the coolest February since 1991
• The State was not exposed to the prolonged hot conditions in other parts of eastern Australia (as detailed in the Special Climate Statement Exceptional heat in southeast Australia in early 2017 ); only a few sites in Tasmania managed to get over 30 °C, some on the 4th and some on the 28th

Mild days but little rain in Hobart

• Hobart was one of the few areas to have above-average temperatures in February; the mean maximum temperature of 22.9 °C was 1.2 °C above the long-term average, with the warmest day the 22nd with 28.1 °C
• Nights were generally cool in Hobart, with a mean minimum temperature of 11.8 °C that was 0.3 °C below the long-term average, with the lowest temperature 8.5 °C on the morning of the 25th
• Hobart registered just 10.4 mm of rain in February, well short of the long-term average of about 40 mm

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Maps
	Observed	Anomaly	Decile rank
Total rainfall
Mean daily maximum temperatures
Mean daily minimum temperatures

Click on a map to show it full size in a pop-up window

* note: there are gaps in the historical record at this site, so it is possible a lower value has gone unreported

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top

Extremes Maps Records Summaries Important notes the top